Elastic properties of $\gamma $-Pu by Resonant Ultrasound Spectroscopy

Despite of intense experimental and theoretical work on Pu, there is still little understanding of the strange properties of this metal. We used resonant ultrasound spectroscopy method to investigate the elastic properties of pure polycrystalline Pu at high temperatures. Shear and longitudinal elastic moduli of the $\gamma $-phase of Pu were determined simultaneously and the bulk modulus was computed from them. A smooth linear and large decrease of all elastic moduli with increasing temperature was observed. We calculated the Poisson ratio and found that it increases from 0.242 at 519K to 0.252 at 571K. .